


Not Just Friends

by shethenightwolf



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Love, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 11:30:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17487287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shethenightwolf/pseuds/shethenightwolf
Summary: Everyone in the Van Der Linde gang could see you and Arthur were in love, but ironically you both couldn’t. However, the day your life was put at risk has changed everything.





	Not Just Friends

There was no other person like Arthur. You knew it from the day you met him years ago. Soon he became your best friend, a man you could always count on. He always understood you, support you and helped you even when times were rough, you knew he’s had your back. And you’ve always had his.

You cared for him, always been anxious when he was away. Always in wonderful mood when he was around, like he was your medicine for all the bad in the world.

Even at some point the others started to notice your affection for him, but you denied it. No way, you couldn’t fall for him, because he has always treated you like a friend and you didn’t want to ruin it. Maybe he had feelings for you too, but you didn’t want to risk what you’ve had just to find out. Arthur’s friendship was too precious for you. So it was better to deny your feelings.

“What a calm day, huh?” You’ve heard his voice behind your back as you were brushing your horse. “Too calm I’d say.”

“Are you looking for trouble?” You smirked turning towards him.

“Nah, I’m just… not used to peace.” He approached your horse and stroke her gently. “I still remember the times we had to sleep with guns in our hands.”

“We still do.” You chuckled putting a saddle on your horse back. “Perhaps we will be sleeping with it forever.”

“Fair enough.” Arthur admitted. “But don’t you feel it’s too calm? Am I overreacting?”

“You are.” You came closer to him and pat his shoulder. “Maybe trouble is not following us anymore.”

“Mhm.” He hummed in the answer.

“Oh, come on, Arthur.” You said trying to cheer him up. “Wanna go to the Valentine with me and talk about your fears in the company of whiskey or two?”

“I’d rather stay in camp if you don’t mind.” He replied and put his arm around your shoulders leaning down to your ear. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk. As a matter of fact I can provide a pretty good whiskey to you.”

•

The night was approaching slowly when you both drank another glass of Arthur’s whiskey. The air was warm as it was midsummer evening and you truly enjoyed it. One glass was following another and suddenly you both became pretty drunk. You sat next to him beside the campfire laying your head on his shoulder. It felt so good to be this close to him and you noticed he smiled when your forehead touched his rough neck.

“ _Hola_ , lovebirds.” Javier’s voice brought you back to Earth as you…. “Seeing you both together always makes me happy.”

“We’re not — “ You both instantly said, but were interrupted by him saying:

“I don’t want to listen to that, amigos” Javier sat on the log and put a bottle of tequila in front of him. “Do want some tequila?”

“I think we’re — good.” You said standing up and feeling  dizzy. Arthur saw it and immediately got himself by your side to help you. “As you can see.”

“Come on, doll.” He picked you up effortlessly. “Save me some, Javier, I’ll be right back.”

Arthur carried you to your tent and gently laid down on your bed, covering you with a blanket. He sat next to you and stroked your forehead.

“I think another sip, especially of tequila, could make things worse.”

“You’re very funny, Arthur.” You murmured. “Thank you.”

You cuddled into the pillow, feeling tiredness. The world was spinning around, so you closed your eyes, hearing Arthur’s soothing voice.

“Get some rest, sweetheart.” 

You don’t remember the moment when he left your tent because you fell asleep immediately.

•

The danger came in the middle of the night. You got woken up by gunshots and screams of other women in the camp. You didn’t know what was going on, your head was still hurting but you got up within a few seconds.

“Damn, O’Driscolls!” Someone shouted, probably Dutch but it was so loud you could barely hear your thoughts. 

You went out of your tent and immediately got yourself covered behind the nearest tree you could run to. Your breath quickened and you could feel the level of adrenaline growing up inside you. You became sober in a minute, looking for Arthur in the mess you all were into.

“Y/N, good you’re here.” Javier approached you then handed you a gun. “Help would be really appreciated.” 

“Where’s Arthur?” You asked him nervously, reloading the revolver. 

“I don’t know, somewhere out there.” He replied, then shot at the opponents. “It was a goddamn ambush! Somehow they knew we all would be here tonight.”

“Ambush or not…” You said, firing a few shots. “We need to get rid of them.”

You didn’t wait for Javier’s answer, just started moving forward, trying not to get shot in motion. You were just about to reach your next hide out when someone grabs your hand and mercilessly twisted it behind your back. You moaned in pain, feeling your knees bend under the pressure of the enemy. The weapon fell out of your hand, and person behind you kicked her into the distance.

“Guys, look who we’ve got here.” The man said, lifting you off the ground, but still not loosening his grip. “Van Der Linde, you might be interested this time.”

“What’s your name, darling?” He whispered to your ear, making you shiver.

“Y/N…” You murmured. 

“Very well.” He laughed under his breath. “Your friend, Y/N, is here with us now. Nothing’s gonna happen if you come with us, Dutch. Colm wants to have a little chat with you.”

Suddenly everything fell silent. Javier and John emerged from behind the trees with raised weapons. They aimed your way, watching you closely. However, you could not see Dutch. Your heart sped up when you felt the cold knife blade on your neck.

“Leave her.” Arthur came out of hiding, holding his high hands in the sign of surrender. He let go of the weapon, instantly becoming defenseless. “Take me instead.”

“Well, well, Arthur Morgan.” The other man behind you said, pointing his gun at him as he was slowly approaching you. “And who is she for you that you care so much about her?”

“A friend.” Arthur said, looking at your terrified face. “She’s just doesn’t deserve this. I do.”

A man who was holding a knife next to your neck huffed, pressing blade harder to your skin. Your eyes were filled with fear, which Arthur noticed immediately.

“Partner… Leave her.” 

“Or what?”

The world has slowed down. Arthur shifted, giving Dutch the chance to shoot at the man holding you. He shot him on the shoulder, giving you the opportunity to escape, but he held you with his hand, thrusting the knife into your thigh with all his might.You don’t remember when you felt the last pain. You fell to the ground next to him. The others were already attacking O'Driscolls, using the confusion caused by Dutch. You grabbed a stone lying nearby and angrily hit the man lying next to you in the head. The others began to retreat, realizing that they had lost the battle.

“Y/N!” You’ve heard the Arthur’s voice as he approached you. You hit the man again with stone, realising your hands were covered with blood. “Hey, hey, enough…”

Arthur embraced you so that you would calm down. You cuddled up to him, still trembling with fear. After a while, however, you were filled with anger, caused by the fact that he risked his life for you. You pushed him away, feeling terrible pain in your leg.

“You idiot!” You moaned. “You could’ve died!”

Tears began to run down your cheeks. You didn’t know if it was pain or anger. Many emotions were stirring in you and you still could not control them.

“Is this a new way you say _thank you_ , doll?” He asked you, watching you hurting. “Try not to move, okay?”

Suddenly others have gathered over you, terrified of what has just happened. The adrenaline in your body began to slowly fall, making you feel more and more pain. Charles knelt down beside you, carefully watching your wound.

“I can get that knife out of your leg if you want.” He said looking up at Arthur. “If Arthur doesn’t want to do it.”

“I‘m convinced that you will do it better, friend.” Arthur said standing up. “Besides, I have to cool down first.“ 

“Sure.” Charles said, taking you in his arms. “Guys, get out of here, you really have nothing to look at.”

“Everything will be fine, Y/N. I have a few herbs that will ease your pain.” He smiled to you, while he was taking you aside to get your wound cleaned. 

“Thank you.” You said when he laid you down on his blanket. The tears were still streaming down your face, but it wasn’t because of pain. It was because of Arthur and Charles knew that.

“You’d rather it was him, not me, I know.” He said constantly smiling at you. “You are meant for each other. You guys are blind or something that you haven’t noticed it earlier?”

“Charles… I don’t have the strength to talk about it now.” You wiped away tears, trying to smile back at him. “But yeah, I wish it was him, not you.”

Charles smirked and cleaned your wound. You closed your eyes, trying not to focus on the pain. You were thinking about Arthur, wondering where he was and secretly wishing he was with you now.

•

The night was long and fulfilled with pain. You couldn’t sleep as you felt your aching leg every time you moved. You were lying still, alone in your tent, thinking about what has happened a few hours ago. You could’ve died, because you were reckless. Arthur could’ve died, because he was even more reckless, wanting to exchange himself for you. It made you feel guilty, because you put his life at danger too.

“How do you feel?” His voice interrupted your thoughts.

Arthur entered your tent quietly. You used all your strength to lift yourself up when he sat on the edge of your bed. You covered yourself with a blanket as you were only wearing plain grey t-shirt and black panties. He looked at the bandage wrapped around your thigh and at red stain on it.

“I’m alright.” You said seeing concentration on his face. “It just hurts a little.”

“Yeah, a little. Considerin’ the fact it’s still bleeding.” He said caressing your inner thigh. “It must hurt pretty much.”

You didn’t reply as you were suprised by his actions, but you didn’t mind him touching you. Also you didn’t want to make him realise you enjoyed it, so you tried to redirect your attention elsewhere.

“Charles took good care of me.” You said. “For an hour I almost didn’t feel the pain after he used some of his herbs…”

“I knew he would. Otherwise I wouldn’t have left you with him.” He scratched his chin, wondering what to say next. “I’m sorry I left you. I really needed some time alone.”

“So thoughtful of you.” You said slightly irritated. _What was his point?_ “It’s okay. Apologies accepted.”

Arthur didn’t reply, just sat there with you in silence. Sometimes he annoyed you so much as he was a mysterious man. Most of the time you just couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in his head.

“What happened earlier…” He said breaking the silence between you. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Same.” You replied. “Although I was so mad at you at first for risking your life for me. That was extremely stupid of you, Arthur.”

“It wasn’t. It was the only right thing I could do.” He maintained. “I would do anything to keep you safe. I would walk into the fire, kill a hundred men, or even die for you and it would make me happy because at the end of the day you’d be just fine.”

“Arthur…” You were speechless. You completely didn’t expect to hear what he’s just confessed to you.

“What happened today… Made me realise one thing.” You instinctively came closer to him as he lowered his voice. “Maybe.. maybe I’ve been blinded for too long. I’ve been fooling myself all this time by telling myself I feel nothing for you….”

“I care for you much more than I should… as a friend.” He continued after a moment.

“What do you want to say, Arthur?”

“As a friend I shouldn’t want to kiss you so badly, Y/N.” He grabbed your chin with his hand and lifted it up, using his thumb to subtly opened your mouth before he pressed his lips against yours. You kissed him back, feeling your heart racing like crazy.

“Yeah, as a friend you shouldn’t…” You whispered, still feeling his lips touching yours. “Friends don’t kiss each other.”

“Damn right.” Arthur said leaving a peck on your lips, before he looked at you with a spark in his eyes. “But you’re so beautiful. I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” You were heavy breathing trying to calm yourself. “It would be a shame.”

“Indeed.” He changed his position by laying himself down on your bed.

“What are you doing?” You chuckled when grabbed you, making you lay down beside him.

“Making sure you’ll be safe through the night.” He said when you put your head on his shoulder. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again. I promise you this.”

You rested your head, feeling the warmth of his skin and his breath on your forehead. Arthur kissed it gently, making you smile uncontrollably. You almost forgot about your wound then it started to hurt you again.

You moaned quietly. He hushed you with another kiss and you indulged in. His lips were rough but somehow they managed to ease your pain. You caressed his cheek and instantly made him smirk.

“Does it hurt much?” He asked suddenly.

“Yes…” You murmured.

“Want me to take care of it?”

“As a friend, or…”

“As _your_ men?” He finished the sentence for you.

“Are you sure about it?” You asked him uncertainly.

“The real question is if you want to be _my_ lady?” He held you close in his arms and it felt like heaven. “Not just a friend.”

“I do, Arthur.” You said smiling at him. “Believe me or not, but I’ve always wanted to.”

“And by the way, how would you take care of me?” You couldn’t stop your curiosity.

“I could kiss you here… and there.” He pointed his finger at your lips then slipped his hand under the blanket, pulling your panties off a bit and making you blush from embarrassment. “Hey, beautiful… I’m just teasin’ ya. Get some rest first.”

“Okay.”

Arthur covered both of you with a blanket. You started to feel warmth and tiredness was becoming unbearable, so you closed your eyes. You heard him humming some nice melody under his breath, stroking your thigh incessantly. You were falling asleep beside the most wonderful man you knew. And it made you the happiest person in the world.


End file.
